Weekly Standard Highlights Alice Lloyd College

Nov 11, 2016

Alice Lloyd College has once again received national attention for its unique model of higher education. The Weekly Standard, a popular conservative magazine, highlights ALC’s tuition guaranteed student work program in an article entitled “Appalachian Work Colleges.” Author Alice B. Lloyd (no relation to the school’s founder) focuses on two of the eight work colleges nationally – Alice Lloyd and Berea.

Alice Lloyd College provides a high-quality, character-based education to students primarily from the central Appalachian region. More than 6,400 applied last year to be accepted at the school. Priority is given to students with good academic records, strong character, and financial need.

In 1915, Alice Lloyd came to eastern Kentucky because her doctor believed that the warmer climate of the south would be better for her weakened immune system than the harsh cold climate of Massachusetts. Mrs. Lloyd was not one to sit idly by and surrender to her ailing condition. Instead she befriended the mountain people she had come to live among. Even though the children of Appalachia lacked formal education, Mrs. Lloyd saw they had qualities of being great leaders. She developed a mission to educate the children of Appalachia, regardless of their financial situation, and prepare them to give back to their communities.

The people of Appalachia are still being educated, thanks to the ongoing mission of Mrs. Lloyd and through the continued support of donors who fund the Appalachian Leaders College Scholarship, ALC’s tuition guarantee scholarship. Tuition for full-time students living in the 108 county service area is guaranteed. The author was impressed by such an idea, and she believes that people “…would do well to draw lessons from the work college financial model,” especially during a time when people across the country have rallied for free college. Instead of paying out-of-pocket tuition costs for college, the students at ALC work to earn their degree which instills a strong work ethic and prepares them for future jobs. Over 80 percent of ALC’s graduates return to the region to work. Now, nearly one hundred years since the founding of ALC, Alice Lloyd’s mission is still continuing to be a “light unto the mountains.”